The wrestling world has made its views clear following the airing of backstage footage showing last year’s altercation between Jack Perry and CM Punk.
The April 10, 2024, episode of AEW Dynamite saw the Young Bucks air the much-anticipated footage from All In London 2023 that saw Perry and Punk get physical. The altercation led to both men being suspended from AEW and Punk being fired a week later.
The Wrestling World Reacts
Unsurprisingly, the airing of this footage has caused quite a stir among those in professional wrestling. On his Instagram Stories immediately after the segment, Punk shared an image of President George W. Bush with the message “Mission Accomplished.”
The Young Bucks took to Twitter to speak about being petty Executive Vice Presidents of All Elite Wrestling.
EVPetty
— Matthew & Nicholas Jackson (@youngbucks) April 11, 2024
Shawn Spears, an AEW alum who has since returned to WWE as part of NXT, suggested that releasing the footage had backfired for Tony Khan.
— Shawn Spears™? (@ShawnSpears) April 11, 2024
Two-time WWE Hall of Famer Booker T, who previously made up a fictional altercation with Punk, used a gif of himself to express his surprise.
— Booker T. Huffman (@BookerT5x) April 11, 2024
Eric Bischoff, who has been critical of AEW and Tony Khan, believes releasing the footage proved that Khan is a ‘clown,’ a term Punk used to describe him post-fight.
— Eric Bischoff (@EBischoff) April 11, 2024
AEW’s Danhausen, a friend of CM Punk, was amused to see what unfolded, as a gif of ‘Rowdy’ Roddy Piper showed.
— Danhausen (@DanhausenAD) April 11, 2024
WWE/TNA Hall of Famer Bully Ray said it was “no bueno” for AEW that fans were chanting for Punk at Dynamite.
Did I just hear CM PUNK chants during the beatdown? ?????
Because if I did…no bueno. #AEWDynamite #BOAfterDark@BustedOpenRadio
— Bully Ray (@bullyray5150) April 11, 2024
Bully also addressed the matter further on his Busted Open Radio: After Dark podcast.
“This is not on the talent. This is not on the locker room. And most of the time, it never ever is across the board. It’s on creative. It’s on the booker. It’s on the matchmaker. This company needs help. At this point, I hope even you diehards realize that.”
Ultimately, Punk will continue to be a source of controversy within AEW even after his release from the company. As far as these reactions and those by fans go though, it appears airing the footage may not have done AEW or Tony Khan any favors.